Publications

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January 2010 (Revised May 2012)
Case

TopCoder (A): Developing Software through Crowdsourcing

By: Karim R. Lakhani, David A. Garvin and Eric Lonstein

TopCoder's crowdsourcing-based business model, in which software is developed through online tournaments, is presented. The case highlights how TopCoder has created a unique two-sided innovation platform consisting of a global community of over 225,000 developers who... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Innovation and Invention; Two-Sided Platforms; Motivation and Incentives; Social and Collaborative Networks; Competition; Software; Technology Industry

26 Jun 2012
First Look

First Look: June 26

facilitating social comparison among agents. Overall, the findings demonstrate the power of non-financial rewards to motivate agents in settings where there are limits to the use of financial incentives. Download the paper:... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

December 2020
Case

Urban Company

By: Krishna G. Palepu

Urban Company is an India-based market platform that helps customers book home services and at home beauty services. The company differentiated itself by investing heavily in building customer trust. Rather than merely positioning itself as a lead generating... View Details

Keywords: COVID-19 Pandemic; Entrepreneurship; Digital Platforms; Emerging Markets; Strategy; Service Delivery; Trust; Technology Industry; Service Industry; India

08 Aug 2022
HBS Case

Building an 'ARMY' of Fans: Marketing Lessons from K-Pop Sensation BTS

members were allowed to interact with fans on social media, and discuss the pressures of stardom. Communicate directly with fans. Hybe created a platform called Weverse, where fans could buy merchandise,... View Details

Keywords: by Shalene Gupta; Media & Broadcasting; Music

March 2024
Case

Funderbeam: Teaming Up or Going Alone?

By: Paul A. Gompers, Elena Corsi and Orna Dan

Funderbeam, a global platform founded in Estonia to enable start-ups to run private syndications and secondaries while offering liquidity for private equity investors, was at a crossroads. Over its ten-year run, the company had expanded its services and areas of... View Details

Keywords: Decision Making; Business Exit or Shutdown; Transition; Leading Change; Business or Company Management; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Law; Mergers and Acquisitions; Financing and Loans; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Ownership Stake; Expansion; Business Startups; Venture Capital; Financial Services Industry; Estonia; Republic of Ireland; United Kingdom; Singapore

13 Jul 2021
Research & Ideas

Outrage Spreads Faster on Twitter: Evidence from 44 News Outlets

negative tweets engaged more users. Originating as internet novelties 15 years ago, social media platforms have altered everything from democracy to human relationships in ways that are hard to overstate.... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz; Media & Broadcasting

29 Nov 2022
Research & Ideas

Is There a Method to Musk’s Madness on Twitter?

structure is a bit out of hand and, by any metric, above comparable social media companies. And so, there is definitely an incentive here for them to try to get that in line sooner rather than later. If you compare Meta/Facebook to... View Details

Keywords: by Christina Pazzanese, Harvard Gazette; Technology

08 Feb 2017
HBS Seminar

Andrew Mao, Microsoft Research

2016
Working Paper

Pros vs Joes: Agent Pricing Behavior in the Sharing Economy

By: Jun Li, Antonio Moreno and Dennis J. Zhang

One of the major differences between markets that follow a “sharing economy” paradigm and traditional two-sided markets is that the supply side in the sharing economy often includes individual nonprofessional decision makers, in addition to firms and professional... View Details

Keywords: Two-sided Market; Sharing Economy; Behavioral Economics; Revenue Management; Hospitality; Two-Sided Platforms; Price; Behavior; Experience and Expertise

SSRN

11 Sep 2021
News

Direct-To-Consumer Retailers Try to Bring Pizzazz to Dull Goods

March 2008 (Revised March 2014)
Case

Facebook

By: Mikolaj Jan Piskorski, Thomas R. Eisenmann, Aaron Smith, David Chen and Brian Feinstein

As Facebook topped one billion monthly users in October 2012, the online social network continued to face questions about how best to monetize its surging traffic. The company could invest further in new advertising products, which represented the majority of the... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Profit; Open Source Distribution; Social and Collaborative Networks; Competition; Competitive Strategy; Internet and the Web; Digital Platforms; Information Technology Industry

October 2019 (Revised December 2019)
Case

Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys: A Power Couple

By: Boris Groysberg, Annelena Lobb and Sarah Mehta

Set in 2018, this case follows married couple and music industry titans Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys as they consider how best to use their platforms to achieve their goals. Since achieving professional success in the music industry early in their lives, Swizz and Keys... View Details

Keywords: Entertainment; Music Entertainment; Personal Development and Career; Entrepreneurship; Goals and Objectives; Power and Influence; Music Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Fine Arts Industry

October 2011 (Revised January 2012)
Case

LinkedIn Corporation

By: Francois Brochet and James Weber

The case is set at the end of the first public trading day of LinkedIn, an online professional network company. It provides information on the company's business model, financial statements, competitive landscape, and IPO terms, to help the reader critically assess the... View Details

Keywords: Initial Public Offering; Growth and Development; Earnings Management; Risk Management; Valuation; SWOT Analysis; Emerging Markets; Business Model; Information Technology; Competitive Strategy; Web Services Industry

May 2008 (Revised March 2009)
Case

SKS Microfinance

By: Shawn A. Cole and Theresa Chen

Vikram Akula, CEO of SKS Microfinance, seeks a venture capital investment to fund his firm. SKS, one of the largest and fastest growing microfinance institutions in India, is a profitable, for-profit institution with a social mission. In what is one of the first... View Details

Keywords: For-Profit Firms; Venture Capital; Microfinance; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Valuation; Financial Services Industry; India

05 Apr 2011
First Look

First Look: April 5

Limits to Network Effects Authors:Hann Hałaburda and Mikołaj Jan Piskorski Abstract We model conditions under which agents in two-sided matching markets rationally prefer a platform restricting choice rather than a View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

Sara McKinley Torti

Sara Torti is a senior product and operating executive who has focused extensively on creating and scaling technology-based businesses that require a combination of detailed execution, business insight and technical acumen. She has grown products... View Details

2018
Article

Threat of Platform-Owner Entry and Complementor Responses: Evidence from the Mobile App Market

By: Wen Wen and Feng Zhu

We examine how app developers on the Android mobile platform adjust their innovation efforts (rate and direction) and value-capture strategies in response to Google’s entry threat and actual entry into their markets. We find that, after Google’s entry threat increases,... View Details

Keywords: Platform-owner Entry; Entry Threat; Innovation; Complementors; Mobile App Industry; Digital Platforms; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Market Entry and Exit; Price; Innovation and Invention; Applications and Software

Find at Harvard

04 Mar 2020
News

Female Faculty Leading the Way on International Women's Day

March 2017
Case

SKS Microfinance (Abridged)

By: Shawn Cole and Theresa Chen

Vikram Akula, CEO of SKS Microfinance, seeks a venture capital investment to fund his firm. SKS, one of the largest and fastest growing microfinance institutions in India, is a profitable, for-profit institution with a social mission. In what is one of the first... View Details

Keywords: For-Profit Firms; Venture Capital; Microfinance; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Valuation; Financial Services Industry; India